The Goddess Descends
by lionessXofXdreams
Summary: An anomaly of sorts falls from the sky and lands on the outskirts of Midgar. Sephiroth is sent to investigate. Who he finds is someone he's been longing to see, yet he hates at the same time. She brings up these "feelings" things that he thought he abandoned for a lifetime of battle. And then she starts messing with the system at Shinra. Now, he's left in charge over her. SephXOC


**A/N This is my second published fanfic. This is the only chapter I've written so far, the second is on its way and I have absolutely _no_ idea where I'm going with this story. I guess I'll find out as you do.**

**Enjoy!**

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**1. Reunion**

General Sephiroth, age 22, walked into Lazard's office to pick up his next assignment. Lazard barely looked up when Sephiroth approached and handed him the paperwork. Sephiroth read it as he walked out the door.

There was a strange phenomenon in the town just south of Midgar. What seemed like the beginnings of a tornado manifested, and in a flash of light, a person fell from the center and when it landed, the force was strong enough to create a crater. Then the storm disappeared.

The person was reported to be unharmed, and a woman.

Unharmed? After falling that far and that fast? Such a feat is only possible for someone like him, a 1st class SOLDIER which meant that he would be dealing with someone maybe almost as powerful as himself.

The problem was what he was supposed to do: take the woman into custody, especially with such a strange description. Whoever was investigating chose interesting details to put into the report: "A woman, tall, about 5'9, long brown hair, dark blue eyes, voluptuous and beautiful."

In all honesty, the last part was a bit much, especially with the specific details about vague traits.

Putting that aside, Sephiroth, after gearing up, headed out in search of a woman.

* * *

When he reached the outskirts, he put on his cloak. He didn't want civilians interrupting his search. The streets were crowded with people of all shapes and sizes. Finding a single woman would be difficult, but he kept his eyes open and his mind alert.

The search didn't take as long as he thought it would.

Using a hooded cloak to hide her figure, it was the girl as described. He could tell by the height, the color of her voluptuous hair, the kind smile she gave to the clerk that handed her a bag of goods that she bought, and as she turned toward him, she sensed him staring, and looked at him with familiar, beautiful indigo eyes.

It was _her_. The girl he had met all those years ago. The girl so beautiful that he thought she was an angel, and looking at her now all these years later and all grown up, he still believed she was an angel, though she told him otherwise.

She recognized him as well and approached him with a smile so dazzling it nearly made his heart stop. She stopped only a foot from him. Her smile never faded as he continued to stare at her, disbelieving, but kept his outward appearance aloof. He was a trained SOLDIER, not some boy staring after a long lost crush.

"Hello, Sephiroth," she said quietly to preserve their privacy.

"You're the girl from the lab," he said just as quietly.

"I am. I sense you're looking for someone. Have you found him yet?" she asked, stepping a little closer.

"Her. And yes, I have," he started, "I need you to come with me," he said coldly and turned to leave.

"I refuse," she said, and remained where she was.

Sephiroth turned to glare at her, keeping his cold and brusque demeanor. "Why?"

"Because I have no reason to go with you," she answered, staring directly into his eyes.

"We are no longer children. I am a General. I have the authority. You _will_ follow me,"

"I refuse," she said, smirking at him. When he scowled, she held up a hand. "No, we are not children. You may be a General here, but I am not from this world. And I am _queen_ in mine. You have no authority over _me_. I choose not to follow you. Not at least we've caught up a bit," she said, an amused glint lit her eyes.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at her. "You are a queen?" He asked, skeptically.

"Not of this world, but yes. Do you remember nothing I told you in those labs?"

"I remember everything," he said.

"Then you should remember that I was a princess last we spoke. It was only natural there was a chance that I would be queen," she said, as if this should have been obvious. But he could tell she was stalling.

"Enough. I need you to come with me," He said.

"No," she said, "Let's make a deal. We go to the outskirts of this town and we battle. If I win, I get to choose whether or not I go with you, if you win, I go with you no matter what. Fair?" she said, holding out her left hand

Sephiroth glanced between her hand and her eyes. By the way of her . . . re-entry to this world, Sephiroth could tell she was powerful: at least as powerful as Genesis or Angeal. Fighting her would be difficult, but nothing he couldn't handle.

He took her hand and accepted the offer. Something strange happened when his hand touched hers: His heart pounded, and a pressure compressed his lungs. It was power. Absolute power that she was currently suppressing. Another thing happened that he couldn't describe. A tingling sensation, like electricity passed from her hand and into his, spreading all-throughout his body. He nearly shivered. _She_ did.

He let go of her hand, and they walked together to the outskirts.

* * *

On the way there, he called for reinforcements by pressing the button on his cellphone so that she wouldn't tell what he was doing. While walking, she tried starting a conversation with him, but he wasn't willing to talk with her.

He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was there. She had been gone so long, and she had grown up so beautifully. Though the differences were profound, such as the curves were significantly more pronounced, her hair slightly darker and more voluptuous, her eyes a brighter indigo, her gait was womanly and confident, she held her shoulders back and her head high, she was just like she was when they were younger. Seeing her stirred up emotions that he thought he had long abandoned to gain a cold demeanor for battle.

And to this day, he was still convinced she was an angel. She was just too beautiful. Even if she continued to tell him that she was a descendant of demon-spawn. Even as he looked at her now, with his adult mind that had been enhanced by mako treatments and war, and after he had stopped believing in things as childish as angels, he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking of her as a cellestial being.

They stopped many paces apart and faced each other. Sephiroth readied his masamune, and he watched as she pulled the cloak away from her too perfect body to reveal she wore strange armor that only covered her chest, her breasts, ribs, and the majority of her arms, leaving her shoulders and neck bare, as well as armor on her pants that hugged her hips and revealed much of her midriff. He noticed a small double studded piercing on her belly button.

Internally shaking himself from the distraction, he saw that she wore a rapier on a belt loosely draped across her hips.

She drew her blade and steadied her stance.

And the fight began.

He lunged at her, and she disappeared, reappearing behind him, ready to strike.

The reality of the situation hit him as hard as her blade hit his, sending him flying away from her. She was stronger than he was. By far. And it terrified him. He refused to relent, just as she refused to ease her pace.

Her speed was too fast for him to follow and his eyes couldn't keep track of her. He barely had enough time to parry her blows and regain balance before she was striking again, even after sending him flying all the way across the clearing.

Sephiroth was thoroughly frustrated. Yet he refused to give in to his temper. He needed to remain calm if he was going to gain the upper hand. So he tried strengthening his stance. It worked for a while before her strikes became faster and Sephiroth was faced with a crushing reality: she was too strong. Even for the great General Sephiroth.

And he was reminded that she was indeed not human. No. He could tell she was holding back. Even with this amount of strength she used against him, she was holding back.

Sephiroth's knee buckled and he was struck down. His knees touched the ground and his masamune struck from his hands, landing in hers that she flipped to hold behind her back, blade pointing to the sky, the tip of her rapier at his throat.

He had lost.

"Do you yield?" she asked, not even out of breath.

"I yield," Sephiroth said, struggling to breathe normally, so it seemed she hadn't destroyed _all _his pride and dignity.

"Good, we have company," she said, and turned toward the direction of the forest and handed Sephiroth his sword. Sephiroth stood and turned toward the direction that she faced, and saw, much to his chagrin, Genesis and Angel, gawking.

A few moments passed.

"I'm going to go get my cloak," she said, and turned around, sheathing her sword and walked to where she left her cloak.

Genesis and Angeal decided to approach him then.

"Sephiroth, who is that?" Angeal asked, looking to get to the bottom of things immediately. Which forced Genesis to stay on topic so that he wouldn't gloat that the "Great General Sephiroth lost to a girl."

"She's. . . The one who I was sent to find. She fell from the sky, landed unconscious, but somehow unscathed."

"Unscathed?" Angeal asked, looking at Sephiroth through narrowed eyes. "Why were you fighting her?"

"Because she refused to follow me to Shinra Headquarters. She suggested that we fight to settle the matter,"

"And what? Now she won't come with us?" Genesis asked, already sounding like he was enjoying the moment far too much.

"No. She said that she would make her decision if she won. I don't know if she will come willingly or not,"

"Who is she?" Genesis asked, staring over Sephiroth's shoulder. Both he and Angeal turned to look at the girl who was now approaching.

"I met her a long time ago, in the labs," Sephiroth said quietly.

"The labs?" Angeal asked incredulously.

"She escaped a few days after I met her. Destroyed all of Hojo's records that he had documented about her in the process. She was never seen again,"

"No," Genesis said, shaking his head and staring at the girl who was approaching them. "I don't believe it,"

"Well, you better believe it," she said when she stopped next to Sephiroth. "If I can defeat Sephiroth so absolutely as an adult, you can't imagine what I was capable of as a child," she said, smirking at Genesis. He narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"She has a point," Angeal said before he introduced himself to her, and she to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm not surprised Sephiroth kept you a secret, as lovely as you are, it's no wonder he wished to keep your memory to himself," Angeal said cordially.

She laughed at his flattery. "Thank you for your compliment, Angeal. But I doubt those were Sephiroth's intentions,"

Genesis snorted. "Oh, he had no intentions. He just doesn't want to talk to us about his childhood. Frankly, none of us want to hear it," he said and Sephiroth glared at him so furiously, Genesis felt the need to step back.

"That's fine. Each of us has secrets we wish to keep hidden,"

"Wisely said," Angeal said.

"Anyway, I am Genesis," Genesis began, taking her hand and kissing her fingers, "'The goddess descends from the sky / Wings of light and dark spread afar.'"

She looked at Angeal in confusion. He rolled his eyes and shook his head in answer, and she took the hint to ignore it.

Sephiroth, by this time, was done with the pleasantries. "Have you made your decision?"

"Yes," she said, "I will go with you," she said seriously.

Sephiroth nodded and the three men began walking toward the forest. But she grabbed Sephiroth's arm and held him back. The other two noticed and looked back.

"Give us a moment, if you will," she said. They glanced at one another before nodding their consent and continued to the forest.

"What?" the General asked harshly.

"You haven't said my name," she said quietly.

He sighed. "You stopped me to say your name?"

"Sephiroth, not once did you say my name in the time that we've been reunited. And isn't it customary to introduce your acquaintances? You let me introduce myself. . . You've been avoiding saying my name," she accused, her eyes imploring him with their almost sad expression.

Sephiroth _had _been avoiding saying her name. Saying her name meant acknowledging that she was back. He was still irrationally angry with her for abandoning him in those labs and leaving him with _Hojo_ of all people. The sick bastard. She knew how to get away from him, and didn't take Sephiroth away with her when she left.

Saying her name meant that because she was back, she could leave him again.

"Please?" she begged and that look in her eyes was the most heart-wrenching expression.

He sighed, closing his eyes as the name, "Katarjena," rolled off of his tongue so naturally. And so many emotions flowed through him: relief, excitement, nervousness, elation.

She smiled at him with a strange look in her eyes. It looked like relief, happiness, and . . . something else he couldn't name.

"Again," she said.

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. She laughed at his display.

"Katarjena,"

"Once more," she whispered.

This time, just to throw her off, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Katarjena." He felt her shudder as he pulled away and walked toward his fellow SOLDIERs.


End file.
